Stock Connect unites HK, Shanghai

Although the much-anticipated Shanghai Hong Kong Stock Connect program did not start with a bang on Monday, stock analysts in both cities have remained upbeat, saying that investors, especially those in Shanghai, will need time to digest the implications of this project.

To be sure, the benchmark indices in Hong Kong and Shanghai shot up at the opening, but investors' initial enthusiasm seemed to have faded as the day wore on.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.19 percent to close at 2,474.01 against a lackluster turnover of 199.3 billion yuan ($32.4 billion), down from the average daily turnover of 248.5 billion yuan last week.